ENGLEWOOD — The City Council unanimously introduced an amendment to its towing ordinance Tuesday, setting higher tow fees for some vehicles and requiring minimum lot sizes for tow operators on city business.

Under the proposal, city-licensed operators must respond to calls within 20 minutes; three missed or late calls makes the tower subject to losing its license. The amendment also says towers must have a secure lot big enough to house 25 cars.

The amendment also changes the fee schedule so that towing companies can charge:

a single, flat fee of $120, up from $95, for Class 1 vehicles up to 6,000 pounds;

a single, flat fee of $160 for Class 2 vehicles between 6,001 and 12,000 pounds;

$300 per hour for heavy-duty vehicles between 12,001 and 26,000 pounds;

$400 per hour for vehicles larger than 26,001 pounds.

The City Council discussing amending an ordinance on towing. (Photo: Viorel Florescu/NorthJersey.com)

The amendment adjusts a measure adopted in November, which set a 20-minute limit, but a minimum lot size to hold 10 cars. The ordinance was based on recommendations made in May. A more recent proposal by Police Chief Lawrence Suffern and Sgt. Robert Zimmerman — which stipulated a 15-minute limit and a lot size for 50 cars — was not received by the clerk in time for the November action.

During a Nov. 30 special meeting to discuss the amendment, the council tweaked the minimum lot size to allow for 25 cars so as not to exclude one of the borough’s six applicants.